This website is presented by the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations (the Foundation) for the purpose of disseminating information free of charge for the benefit of the public.
The Foundation does not guarantee, and accepts no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this website or on any linked site.
The Foundation recommends that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to their use of this website and that users carefully evaluate the accuracy, currency, completeness and relevance of the material on the website or on any linked site.
The material on this website does not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation or the Australian Government. It is not intended to be nor should it be relied on as a substitute for legal or other professional advice. Users should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.
The material on this website may include the views or recommendations of third parties, which do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation or the Australian Government, or indicate its commitment to a particular course of action.
Links
This website contains links to other websites that are external to this site. The Foundation has no direct control over the content of the linked sites, or the changes that may occur to the content on those sites. The Foundation is not responsible for the content or reliability of links, or for any loss or inconvenience arising from their use.
Providing links to external websites does not constitute an endorsement or a recommendation of any material on those sites or of any third party products or services offered by, from or through those sites. Users of links provided by this website are responsible for being aware of which organisation is hosting the website they visit.
Security
The Foundation applies a range of security controls to protect its website from unauthorised access. However, users should be aware that the internet is an insecure public network that gives rise to a potential risk that a user's transactions are being viewed, intercepted or modified by third parties or that files which the user downloads may contain computer viruses, disabling codes, worms or other devices or defects.
The Foundation does not warrant or represent that the material will not cause damage, or is free from any computer virus or any other defects or errors. The Foundation accepts no liability for any interference with or damage to a user's computer system, software or data occurring in connection with or relating to this website or its use. Users are encouraged to take appropriate and adequate precautions to ensure that whatever is selected from this site is free of viruses or other contamination that may interfere with or damage the user's computer system, software or data.
The Foundation is not liable to users of the material for any loss or damage however caused resulting from the use of the material.
Social Media Terms of Use
The Foundation uses a number of social media services to complement its traditional public outreach activities. The number and nature of social media services used by the Foundation may change over time. The following disclaimer applies to all social media services associated with this website, regardless of whether they are listed on this page.
Any persons who use the Foundation's social media pages ("Users") to transmit, publish, post, upload, distribute, disseminate or otherwise make available data, text, sound, photographs, graphics, images, videos, messages or other materials ("User Content") agree that their access to and use of any of the Foundation's social media pages is subject to these Terms of Use and all applicable laws, and that any such access or use is undertaken at their own risk. The Foundation may also reach out to social media users to seek their permission to feature their User Content on its social media pages. Where a person agrees to allow the Foundation to use their User Content, they are taken to have agreed to these Terms of Use.
The Foundation reserves the right to alter these Terms of Use without advance notice by posting revised Terms of Use. Users should review the Terms of Use each time they provide User Content on the Foundation's social media services or agree to allow the Foundation to use their content.
User Content licence
Any User Content provided on the Foundation’s social media pages will be treated as non-proprietary and non-confidential, and the Foundation does not claim any ownership rights to the User Content. However, by transmitting, publishing, posting, uploading, distributing, disseminating or otherwise making available User Content on the Foundation’s social media services, Users grant to the Foundation a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable, non-transferable, perpetual licence to use, modify, copy, delete from, add to, publicly display and/or reproduce, such User Content, in any form of media or expression, elsewhere on the internet, including without limitation on its social media pages and website.
By transmitting, publishing, posting, uploading, distributing, disseminating or otherwise making available User Content on the Foundation’s social media pages, Users represent and warrant that they own all rights in the User Content or have otherwise obtained appropriate rights and permissions from any and all other persons and/or entities who own, manage or otherwise claim any rights with respect to such User Content. Users represent that the User Content does not infringe the rights including but not limited to copyright, trade mark, privacy or any other legal rights, of any third party and that the Foundations use of the content will not infringe any such rights.
Users agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation and its officers harmless from any and all claims by any third party arising from or in connection with the use of the User Content, including but not limited to claims of infringement of trade mark, copyright, or other intellectual property rights, or rights of privacy.
The Foundation has no control over User Content once it leaves the Foundation’s social media pages and it is possible that others may duplicate material found on The Foundation's social media pages. The Foundation does not accept responsibility for User Content that may be duplicated on third party internet sites including on any social media sites.
Liability
Any content, views, opinions and/or responses to questions or views uploaded, expressed or submitted by Users, other than the content provided by the Foundation, are solely the views, opinions and responsibility of the person submitting them and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Foundation or the Australian Government.
The Foundation is not responsible for, and does not endorse or control, the User Content transmitted or posted on its social media pages and does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of the User Content. The Foundation and its officers accept no liability whatsoever for any User Content provided on its social media pages, including, without limitation, in relation to the currency, accuracy or completeness of the User Content and disclaims all liability for any loss or damage which may arise from the use of User Content provided on its social media pages.
Users should exercise their own skill and care with respect to their use of User Content on the Foundation’s social media pages and should carefully evaluate the accuracy, currency, completeness and relevance of the User Content or any material contained on any linked site.
The Foundation's social media pages may occasionally be unavailable and the Foundation accepts no responsibility whatsoever for lack of service due to any reason.
Privacy
User Content on the Foundation's social media pages is publicly viewable and searchable and is not confidential. The Foundation has no obligation to maintain the confidentiality of any User Content, except pursuant to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Privacy Policy, with which the Foundation complies.
By using the Foundation's social media pages, Users consent to the Foundation's collection, use and disclosure of personal information the User provides for the Foundation's public outreach and communications activities, as described in these terms of use. The Foundation may also use and disclose Users' personal information for the purposes of administering its social media pages, including considering and addressing any comments made by Users therein. In doing so, the Foundation may disclose Users' personal information to social media services, many of which are located overseas. By agreeing to this disclosure, Users acknowledge that if the social media service breaches the Australian Privacy Principles, the Foundation will not be accountable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Entrant will not be able to seek redress under that Act.
Social media services (such as Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and WeChat) have their own terms of use and privacy policies on the collection, use and disclosure (including to overseas servers) of Users' personal information, over which the Foundation has no control. Users should familiarise themselves with the terms of use and privacy policies of each social media service before use.
If Users do not agree to the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information in this way, they should not use the Foundation's social media pages or otherwise provide the Foundation with personal information. For further information about how the Foundation handles Users' personal information, please consult the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Privacy Policy.
Acceptable Use
The Foundation takes a strong stance against content which is discriminatory, hateful or threatening and actions which may offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate.
When contributing to the Foundation's social media pages, Users agree to not:
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abuse, harass or threaten others
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make defamatory or slanderous comments
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use insulting, provocative or hateful language
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use obscene or offensive language
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post material that infringes the intellectual property rights of others
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post multiple versions of the same view
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incite, encourage or make reference to conduct that may constitute a criminal or civil offence or otherwise violate Australian law
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promote commercial interests in their posts
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post comments promoting personal professional interests
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include video, audio or images of another person without his or her permission (or in the case of a minor, the minor's legal guardian)
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post overtly political comments (e.g. reference to candidates, fundraisers, support for political parties)
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post anything which:
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racially or religiously vilifies others
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incites, induces or aids violence, discrimination, harassment, victimisation or hatred towards others, or
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is likely to offend, insult or humiliate others, particularly on the basis of their race, colour, descent, national origin, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation or any disability.
Users further agree to:
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protect their personal privacy and that of others by limiting, to the extent possible, personal information about themselves or others in comments (such as names, email addresses, private addresses or phone numbers)
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post material to the forum that is relevant to the issues being consulted on, and
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represent their own views and not impersonate or falsely represent any other person.
Moderation policy
The Foundation's social media services comments and messages are 'post-moderated'. This means that comments will be published automatically and reviewed by the Foundation after publication. While the Foundation reviews public comments on a regular basis, there may be times when inappropriate or offensive posts or comments that do not meet these Terms of Use appear before they can be removed.
The Foundation has the right to refuse to post or remove any User Content that violates these Terms of Use or is otherwise objectionable and reserves the right to suspend or terminate access to the Foundation's social media platforms without prior notice for any User who violates these Term of Use or infringes the rights of others.
Links
The Foundation’s social media sites may contain links to social media platforms and/or profiles and websites external to the Foundation. These links are provided as a convenience to users and we have no direct control over the content of the linked sites, or the changes that may occur to the content on those sites. The Foundation is not responsible for the content or reliability of links, or for any loss or inconvenience arising from their use.
Providing links to social media platforms and/or profiles and external websites does not constitute an endorsement or a recommendation of any material on those sites or of any third party products or services offered by, from or through those sites. Users of these links provided are responsible for being aware of which organisation is hosting the website they visit.